Mirror assembly for vehicle

ABSTRACT

An interior rearview mirror assembly includes a mirror casing and a prismatic reflective element. The mirror casing is a unitarily molded mirror casing having at least one attachment surface. The prismatic reflective element includes a glass substrate having a front surface and a rear surface and a perimeter edge about a periphery of the glass substrate. A mirror reflector is established at the rear surface of the glass substrate. The perimeter edge of said glass substrate has a generally rounded surface disposed between the front surface and the mirror casing. The prismatic reflective element is attached at the attachment surface of the mirror casing. The perimeter edge of the glass substrate is exposed to and is viewable by the driver of the vehicle when the interior rearview mirror assembly is normally mounted in the vehicle.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/265,613, filed Oct. 21, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,508,831,which is a 371 national phase application of PCT Application No.PCT/US2010/032017, filed Apr. 22, 2010, which claims the benefit of U.S.provisional applications, Ser. No. 61/187,112, filed Jun. 15, 2009, andSer. No. 61/172,022, filed Apr. 23, 2009, which are hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties, and U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/265,613 is a continuation-in-part of PCT Application No.PCT/US2010/051741, filed Oct. 7, 2010, which claims the benefit of U.S.provisional applications, Ser. No. 61/261,839, filed Nov. 17, 2009, andSer. No. 61/249,300, filed Oct. 7, 2009.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of rearview mirrorassemblies for vehicles and, more particularly, to an interior rearviewmirror assembly that is adjustably mounted to an interior portion of avehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Typically, a prismatic interior rearview mirror assembly includes amirror reflective element that is attached to an attachment plate and atleast partially received in a casing, with a bezel portion snapped tothe casing so that the bezel portion and casing overlap or encompass aperimeter edge of the reflective element and a portion or perimeterregion of an outer or front surface of the reflective element (thesurface facing the driver of the vehicle when the mirror assembly isnormally mounted in the vehicle). The reflective element is adjustableby the driver to adjust the rearward field of view provided by themirror reflective element.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a rearview mirror assembly that includesa casing and a reflective element attached to or adhered to a surface orportion of the casing with no bezel portion overlapping or encompassinga perimeter edge or front surface of the reflective element. Thereflective element may comprise a prismatic or wedge-shaped reflectiveelement and the perimeter edge of the reflective element may be roundedor ground or polished so as to provide a rounded profile or curvedtransition around the perimeter of the reflective element.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a rearview mirrorassembly for a vehicle comprises a casing and a reflective element. Thereflective element comprises a front surface (the surface that generallyfaces the driver of the vehicle when the mirror assembly is normallymounted in the vehicle) and a rear surface opposite the front surface.The rear surface has a reflective mirror reflector coated or establishedthereat. The rear surface of the reflective element is attached, such asadhered, to a mounting surface or portion of the casing. When thereflective element is attached to the mounting surface of the casing,the perimeter edge of the reflective element is exposed and the casingdoes not extend over or encompass the perimeter edge or the frontsurface of the reflective element.

Optionally, the perimeter edge may be rounded at a front surface (suchas via grinding and/or polishing the edge region of the mirrorsubstrate) so as to provide a rounded front edge portion (that isviewable by the driver of the vehicle). The rounded perimeter edge maybe tapered to provide a smooth curved transition between the frontsurface of the reflective element and a rear portion of the perimeteredge of the reflective element and the outer side walls of the mirrorcasing. The rounded perimeter edge may be polished or otherwise finishedto provide a smooth aesthetically pleasing perimeter edge of thereflective element.

These and other objects, advantages, purposes and features of thepresent invention will become apparent upon review of the followingspecification in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of an interior rearview mirrorassembly in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the interior rearview mirrorassembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front exploded perspective view of the interior rearviewmirror assembly of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a rear exploded perspective view of the interior rearviewmirror assembly of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation and partial sectional view of the interiorrearview mirror assembly of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 6 is an upper plan view of the interior rearview mirror assembly ofFIGS. 1, 2 and 5;

FIG. 7 is a front perspective view of an interior rearview mirrorassembly in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a rear perspective view of the interior rearview mirrorassembly of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the interior rearview mirror assembly ofFIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the mirror casing of the mirrorassembly of FIG. 7, with the reflective element and bezel portionremoved therefrom;

FIGS. 11A-11C are rear plan views of the mirror assembly, showingdifferent structural patterned elements at the recesses of the mirrorcasing;

FIG. 12 is a side elevation and partial sectional view of another mirrorassembly in accordance with the present invention, shown with anelectro-optic reflective element attached to a mounting surface or panelof a mirror casing;

FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view of another mirror assembly inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the mirror casing of the mirrorassembly of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a side elevation of the mirror assembly of FIG. 13;

FIG. 16 is a rear elevation of the mirror assembly of FIG. 13;

FIG. 16A is a sectional view of the mirror assembly taken along the lineA-A in FIG. 16;

FIG. 16B is a sectional view of the mirror assembly taken along the lineB-B in FIG. 16;

FIG. 17 is a lower plan view of the mirror assembly of FIG. 13;

FIG. 18 is a front elevation of another mirror assembly in accordancewith the present invention;

FIG. 19 is a rear elevation of the mirror assembly of FIG. 18;

FIG. 20 is a side elevation of the mirror assembly of FIG. 18;

FIG. 21 is a rear perspective view of a backing plate and toggle elementattached at a rear of the reflective element of the mirror assembly ofFIG. 18;

FIG. 22 is a rear perspective view of the mirror assembly of FIG. 18,shown with the mirror casing attached over the backing plate and toggleelement of FIG. 21; and

FIG. 23 is another rear perspective view of the mirror assembly of FIG.18.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings and the illustrative embodiments depictedtherein, a rearview mirror assembly 10 for a vehicle includes a casing12 and a reflective element 14 positioned at a front portion of thecasing 12 (FIGS. 1-6). In the illustrated embodiment, mirror assembly 10is configured to be adjustably mounted to an interior portion of avehicle (such as to an interior or in-cabin surface of a vehiclewindshield or a headliner of a vehicle or the like) via a mountingstructure or mounting configuration or assembly 16. The mirror casing 12includes a front mounting surface or panel or substrate 18 (FIGS. 3 and5) to which a rear surface 14 a of the reflective element is attached,such as via an adhesive or adhesive tape 20 (FIGS. 3 and 4) or the like.When so attached or adhered, the perimeter edges of the mirror substrateor reflective element are flush with or generally co-planar with theouter surfaces of the sidewalls of the mirror casing, as discussedbelow. The reflective element 14 thus is attached to the casing and themirror assembly does not include a bezel or casing portion thatencompasses a front surface 14 b and a perimeter edge 15 of thereflective element 14, as also discussed below.

Reflective element 14 comprises a prismatic or wedge-shaped reflectiveelement having rear surface 14 a and front surface 14 b (the surfacethat generally faces the driver of a vehicle when the mirror assembly isnormally mounted in the vehicle) with perimeter edge 15 disposed orestablished about the perimeter of the reflective element and betweenthe front and rear surfaces. Mirror reflective element 14 may be formedfrom various materials such as plastic or glass, but preferably isglass, and preferably has a planar front surface extending at an angleto a planar rear surface. For example, and as best shown in FIG. 5, thewedge-shaped reflective element 14 has a thicker upper region 14 c and athinner lower region 14 d. A mirror reflector, such as a reflectivecoating or layer of a metallic material or composition, such as, forexample, a layer or layers of chromium, aluminum or alloys thereof, suchas may be conventionally known in the industry, is disposed or coated orestablished on rear surface 14 a of reflective element 14.

In the illustrated embodiment, reflective element 14 has a forward edgeportion 15 a of perimeter edge 15 rounded to provide a smooth curvedtransition between the perimeter region of front surface 14 b andperimeter edge 15 and mirror casing 12. As can be seen in FIG. 5, theupper perimeter edge region has a smooth curved transition from frontsurface 14 b to the upper perimeter edge or surface via curved orrounded forward edge portion 15 a, while the lower perimeter edge regionhas a smooth curved transition from front surface 14 b to the lower wallor surface of the mirror casing 12 via the curved or rounded forwardedge portion 15 a. The radius of curvature of the forward edge portion15 a may be selected so as to provide a desired appearance and atransition to the perimeter edge and/or the mirror casing around theentire periphery of the reflective element. In the illustratedembodiment, the radius of curvature is about 2.5 mm or about 3 mm, butmay be greater than or less than this dimension depending on theparticular application of the reflective element and mirror casing ofthe mirror assembly. Typically, it is desired to have at least about a2.5 mm radius of curvature at the perimeter edges of a mirror assembly(typically at a bezel of a conventional mirror assembly) to meet theminimum safety standards for head impact with the mirror, such as duringa sudden stop or collision of the equipped vehicle.

In the illustrated embodiment, the radius of curvature is substantiallyuniform around the perimeter of the reflective element. Optionally,however, the radius of curvature of the curved perimeter edge may varyor be non-uniform around the perimeter of the reflective elementsubstrate, while remaining within the spirit and scope of the presentinvention. For example, the radius of curvature along the lower, thinnerperimeter region of the substrate may be smaller than the radius ofcurvature along the upper, thicker perimeter region of the substrate,with the radius of curvature along the side perimeter regions varying toprovide a substantially smooth transition between the smaller radius ofcurvature at the bottom of the reflective element and the larger radiusof curvature at the top of the reflective element. Such a varying ornon-uniform radius of curvature configuration may be suitable for aplastic reflective element, where the plastic substrate may be molded toprovide any desired profile along the perimeter edges of the substrate.Optionally, the reflective element may comprise any suitable or selectedor desired profile around the perimeter edges, such as, for example,curved or rounded edges or substantially flat edges or chamfered edgesor edges with a decorative profile or the like (and the formed edges maybe established during molding of a plastic substrate or may beestablished by grinding or polishing or otherwise shaping a glasssubstrate, such as discussed below), while remaining within the spiritand scope of the present invention.

The reflective element is pivoted or adjusted or toggled via a toggledevice 22 (FIG. 5) that is adjustable by a user to adjust the mirrorreflective element between a day state orientation or higherreflectivity orientation (where the reflective element is adjusted orset to reflect a greater percentage of light incident thereon toward thedriver of the vehicle) and a night state orientation or lowerreflectivity orientation (where the reflective element is adjusted orset to reflect a lower percentage of light incident thereon toward thedriver of the vehicle), as also discussed below. The toggle device orelement 22 may comprise any suitable toggle device, such as a toggledevice of the types described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,318,870 and/or7,249,860, and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/558,892, filedSep. 14, 2009 and published Apr. 8, 2010 as U.S. Publication No.US-2010-0085653now abandoned, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties. In the illustrated embodiment, the toggledevice 22 includes a toggle element or flip element or tab 22 aextending downward from a body portion 22 c and a ball member 22 bextending rearward from the body portion 22 c. The toggle body 22 c isreceived within central cavity 24 of mirror casing 12 and may be securedor attached or mounted at central cavity 24 of mirror casing 12, such asvia snapping the toggle device 22 to snap elements or attachmentelements formed or molded at central cavity 24 of mirror casing 12.Thus, when the tab 22 a is flipped by the user, the body portion 22 cmay flex to pivot the mirror casing and reflective element about agenerally horizontal pivot axis and relative to the ball member 22 b andmounting structure 16 to adjust the mirror reflective element between adaytime orientation and nighttime orientation, such as in a knownmanner.

Mirror casing 12 and reflective element 14 thus are pivotable relativeto the mirror mounting assembly 16 to pivot the reflective surface ofreflective element 14 in order to reduce glare during nighttimeconditions. When mirror assembly 10 is pivoted from a full reflectivityday position to a reduced reflectivity night position, the reflectivesurface of reflective element 14 is rotated or pivoted or adjusted suchthat uncoated front surface of the reflective element is aligned forviewing by the vehicle driver instead of rear reflective surface of thereflective element 14. The rear reflective surface may reflect at leastabout 60 percent to about 95 percent of the light incident thereon,while the uncoated front surface may reflect about 4 percent orthereabouts of the light incident thereon, thereby significantlyreducing glare from headlights or other bright lights to the rear of thevehicle to the driver's eyes. Optionally, however, it is envisioned thatthe reflective element may comprise a flat or generally planar substrateor non-prismatic substrate or slightly curved substrate, and optionallywithout any day/night adjustment, and without any bezel or casingportion encompassing the perimeter edge and front surface of thereflective element substrate, while remaining within the spirit andscope of the present invention.

Mirror casing 12 comprises a plastic or polymeric molded casing havingat least one generally planar front attachment surface or panel or wall18 and upper, lower and side walls or outer surfaces 19 around theperiphery of the mirror casing. In the illustrated embodiment, and asshown in FIG. 3, the mirror casing 12 is formed with two spaced apartattachment panels or surfaces 18, with the central region of the casinghaving a central cavity 24 that is open or vacant for receiving thetoggle device 22 therein. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the rear portion ofthe casing 12 may have recesses 26 formed therein. Such recesses 26 areformed during the molding of mirror casing so that mirror casing 12 maybe unitarily molded (such as via injection molding), whereby the centralcavity 24 is established to be open at the front portion of the mirrorcasing and the recesses 26 are open at the rear portion of the mirrorcasing. The recesses may be closed or covered via a cap portion or coverelement (not shown) or the like, and such cap portions or cover elementsmay include or encase or house or cover one or more accessories (suchas, for example, compass components or circuitry and/or garage dooropener components or circuitry or any other electronic accessory orcontent desired for the particular mirror application), such as byutilizing aspects of the mirror assemblies described in U.S. Pat. No.7,289,037, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety. For example, a cover element may be snapped to the mirrorcasing or otherwise attached (such as via adhesive or fasteners or thelike) at the mirror casing and at one of the rear recesses of the mirrorcasing to cover the recesses to provide a desired appearance at the rearof the mirror casing and/or to encase or support or house one or moreelectrical or non-electrical accessories or mirror content at the rearof the mirror casing.

Optionally, the mirror casing may be otherwise formed with a centralcavity and generally planar attachment panels or surfaces or wings. Forexample, the mirror casing may include the center portion and centralcavity and side panels or wings, but without the rear recesses and sidewalls and upper and lower walls around the perimeter of the side panels.Optionally, the mirror casing may comprise an injected molded plastic orpolymeric casing, or may comprise a stamped metallic casing or may be anotherwise formed plastic or polymeric or metallic casing, whileremaining within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

The reflective element 14 thus may be readily attached to the frontsurfaces 18 of the mirror casing 12. In the illustrated embodiment, andas shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the reflective element 14 is attached via anadhesive tape 20, such as a double-sided adhesive tape disposed betweenthe rear surface 14 a of reflective element 14 and the front surface 18of mirror casing 12. The tape may be disposed at each of the panelportions or attachment surfaces of the mirror casing or may extendacross the entire width or substantially the entire width of thereflective element (such as shown in phantom in FIGS. 3 and 4), and theadhesive tape may function as an anti-scatter barrier or element at therear of the reflective element. The reflective element 14 thus may befixedly attached to the mirror casing 12 and may be pivoted with themirror casing 12 relative to the mounting assembly 16 to adjust therearward field of view to the driver of the vehicle. When the reflectiveelement 14 is attached to the attachment surfaces 18 of mirror casing12, the perimeter edges or regions of the reflective element aregenerally flush or co-planar with the respective outer walls or surfaces19 of the mirror casing 12.

Although shown and described as being adhesively attached to theattachment surfaces of the mirror casing, it is envisioned that thereflective element may be otherwise attached to the mirror casing, whileremaining within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Forexample, the reflective element may include or may be adhered to a backplate structure that includes attachment elements for connecting tocorresponding attachment elements of the mirror casing. For example, theback plate may include flexible tabs extending therefrom that flex toengage and snap to corresponding slots and tabs at the mirror casing tosecure the reflective element to the mirror casing. The reflectiveelement thus may be attached to the mirror casing via other suitableattachment means while the mirror casing does not encompass or overlapthe perimeter edge and/or the perimeter region of the front surface ofthe reflective element.

In the illustrated embodiment, mounting assembly 16 comprises adouble-ball or double-pivot mounting assembly whereby the reflectiveelement and casing are adjustable relative to the vehicle windshield (orother interior portion of the vehicle) about two pivot joints. Mountingassembly 16 includes a base portion or mounting base 28 and a mountingarm 30, with the reflective element 14 and mirror casing 12 pivotallymounted at an outer or rearward or mirror or socket end 30 a of mountingarm 30 about a first or mirror ball pivot joint (such as a ball andsocket joint or the like that allows for a driver of the vehicle towhich mirror assembly 10 is mounted to adjust the reflective elementvertically and horizontally to adjust the rearward field of view of thedriver). The opposite or forward or base end 30 b of mounting arm 30 isadjustably mounted to mounting base 28 about a second or adjustable orbase joint.

In the illustrated embodiment, mounting base 28 is attached to aninterior or in-cabin surface of a vehicle windshield (such as to amounting button or attachment element adhered to the in-cabin surface ofthe vehicle windshield). The mounting base may be mounted to a mountingbutton or attachment element at the vehicle windshield via a breakawaymounting construction, such as by utilizing aspects of the mountingconstructions described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,820,097 and/or 5,100,095,which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.Mounting arm 28 may comprise a metallic arm or a molded (such asinjection molded) polymeric mounting arm or may be otherwise formed ofother materials, depending on the particular application of the mirrorassembly (and the mounting assembly may utilize aspects of the mountingassemblies described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,318,870; 6,593,565; 6,690,268;6,540,193; 4,936,533; 5,820,097; 5,100,095; 7,249,860; 6,877,709;6,329,925; 7,289,037; 7,249,860; and/or 6,483,438, and/or U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005, and published Mar.23, 2006 as U.S. Patent Publication No. US 2006/0061008, and/or PCTApplication No. PCT/US2010/028130, filed Mar. 22, 2010, which publishedSep. 30, 2010 as International Publication No. WO 2010/111173, which arehereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties).

Thus, the mirror casing 12 may be molded (such as via injection molding)and the toggle assembly 22 may be inserted into or received in thecentral cavity 24, with its toggle element or flip element or tab 22 ainserted through an opening or aperture 12 a formed at a lower region ofmirror casing 12, and with its ball member 22 b inserted through anopening or aperture 12 b at a rear portion of mirror casing 12 (such ascan be seen with reference to FIG. 5). The toggle body 22 c of toggledevice 22 may be secured or attached or mounted at central cavity 24 ofmirror casing 12, such as via snapping the body portion 22 c of toggledevice 22 to snap elements or attachment elements formed or molded atcentral cavity 24 of mirror casing 12. The mounting arm 30 may thenattach to ball member 22 b to attach the mirror casing 12 and reflectiveelement 14 to the mounting structure 16.

Optionally, and with reference to FIGS. 13-17, a mirror assembly 10′ mayhave a casing 12′ and a bezelless reflective element 14′ positioned at afront portion of the casing 12′. Mirror assembly 10′ is adjustablymounted to an interior portion of a vehicle (such as to an interior orin-cabin surface of a vehicle windshield or a headliner of a vehicle orthe like) via a mounting structure or mounting configuration or assembly(not shown in FIGS. 13-17), such as in a similar manner as discussedabove. The mirror casing 12′ includes a front mounting surface or panelor substrate 18′ (FIGS. 13 and 14) to which a rear surface of thereflective element 14′ is attached, such as via an adhesive or adhesivetape 20′ (FIG. 13) or the like. When so attached or adhered, theperimeter edges of the mirror substrate or reflective element are flushwith or generally co-planar with the outer surfaces of the sidewalls ofthe mirror casing, such as in a similar manner as discussed above withrespect to mirror assembly 10.

In the illustrated embodiment, mirror casing 12′ comprises a plastic orpolymeric molded casing having at least one generally planar frontattachment surface or panel or wall 18′ and upper, lower and side wallsor outer surfaces 19′ around the periphery of the mirror casing. Similarto mirror casing 12, discussed above, mirror casing 12′ is formed withtwo spaced apart attachment panels or surfaces 18′, with the centralregion of the casing having a central cavity 24′ that is open or vacantfor receiving the toggle device 22′ therein, and the rear portion of thecasing 12′ may have recesses 26′ formed therein (FIGS. 15 and 16), whichoptionally may be closed or covered via a cap portion or cover element(not shown) or the like as discussed above.

As shown in FIG. 13, mirror casing 12′ includes a pair of togglemounting walls 15′, which include attachment elements 15 a formed orestablished thereat. Thus, the mirror casing 12′ may be molded (such asvia injection molding) and the toggle assembly 22′ may be inserted intoor received in the central cavity 24′, with its toggle element or flipelement or tab 22 a′ inserted through an opening or aperture 12 a′formed at a lower region of mirror casing 12′, and with its socketelement or receiving portion 22 b′ disposed at (and optionally at leastpartially through) an opening or aperture 12 b′ at a rear portion ofmirror casing 12′. The toggle body 22 c′ of toggle device 22′ may besecured or attached or mounted at central cavity 24′ of mirror casing12′, such as via snapping the body portion 22 c′ of toggle device 22′ tosnap elements or attachment elements 15 a′ formed or molded at walls 15′at central cavity 24′ of mirror casing 12′.

The mounting arm or mounting element (not shown in FIGS. 13-17) attachesto receiving portion 22 b′ of toggle device 22′ to attach the mirrorcasing 12′ and reflective element 14′ to the mounting structure. Asshown in FIG. 13, a spring ring or pressure applying element 23′ may bedisposed at receiving portion 22 b′ and is used to apply generally evenpressure around the ball socket to control the torque/effort required toadjust the mirror casing relative to the ball member of the mounting armor element to adjust the driver's rearward field of view. As also can beseen in FIG. 13, an adhesive layer or tape or element 20′ is disposedbetween attachment surfaces 18′ and reflective element 14′ and alsobetween toggle device 22′ and reflective element 14′. The adhesive layeror tape may comprise a foam tape or the like and may adhere thereflective element 14′ to the mirror casing 12′ and may also function asan anti-scatter barrier or element for the reflective element (to limitor substantially preclude shattering of the mirror glass during impact).Mirror assembly 10′ may otherwise be substantially similar to mirrorassembly 10, discussed above, such that a detailed discussion of themirror assemblies need not be repeated herein.

Therefore, the present invention provides a bezelless mirror assemblythat has a reflective element adhered or attached to a front or mountingsurface of a mirror casing, with no mirror casing or bezel portionencompassing the perimeter edge and/or front surface of the mirrorreflective element. When the reflective element is attached to themirror casing, the perimeter region of the reflective element isgenerally flush or co-planar with the side walls of the mirror casing.The reflective element may include rounded perimeter edges to provide anenhanced appearance to the mirror assembly. Thus, the mirror assemblymay be readily assembled by attaching the toggle device to a unitarilymolded mirror casing and attaching the reflective element to the unitarymirror casing to retain the reflective element at the mirror casing andto encase the toggle device within the mirror casing. For mirrorapplications with one or more mirror-based accessories, the accessory oraccessories may be received in or disposed at the rear recesses orcavities formed at the rear of the mirror casing and/or may be disposedat the mounting structure of the mirror assembly.

Optionally, the mirror casing may be formed to provide the generallyplanar attachment surfaces for adhering the mirror reflective element tothe mirror casing (such as described above), and the mirror assembly mayinclude a bezel portion that overlaps or encompasses the perimeter edgesof the reflective element and a perimeter border region of the frontsurface of the reflective element, with the bezel portion snapping orotherwise attaching to the mirror casing, such as in a known manner. Forexample, and with reference to FIGS. 7-10, an interior rearview mirrorassembly 110 for a vehicle includes a casing 112 and a reflectiveelement 114 positioned at a front portion of the casing 112. Mirrorassembly 110 is adjustably mounted to an interior portion of a vehicle(such as to an interior or in-cabin surface of a vehicle windshield or aheadliner of a vehicle or the like) via a mounting structure or mountingconfiguration or assembly (not shown in FIGS. 7-10). The mirror casing112 includes a front mounting surface or panel or substrate 118 (FIGS. 9and 10) to which a rear surface 114 a of the reflective element 114 isattached, such as via an adhesive or adhesive tape or the like. A bezelportion 116 encompasses the perimeter of the reflective element 114 andattaches to the mirror casing 112, such as via snapping or otherwiseattaching to a forward perimeter edge region 112 a of mirror casing 112.

Reflective element 114 may comprise an electro-optic (such aselectrochromic) reflective element or may comprise a prismatic orwedge-shaped reflective element. Reflective element 114 includes rearsurface 114 a and front surface 114 b (the surface that generally facesthe driver of a vehicle when the mirror assembly is normally mounted inthe vehicle). In the illustrated embodiment, reflective element 114comprises an electrochromic reflective element that is adjustablerelative to a mounting arm or pivot assembly. As shown in FIG. 9, themirror assembly may include a socket or pivot mount 125 that is insertmolded at a rear wall or center portion 120 of mirror casing 112,whereby the pivot mount 125 may receive a ball member of a mounting armof a pivot assembly or mounting structure, such as a double pivot ordouble ball mounting structure or a single pivot or single ball mountingstructure or the like (such as a pivot mounting assembly of the typesdescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,318,870; 6,593,565; 6,690,268; 6,540,193;4,936,533; 5,820,097; 5,100,095; 7,249,860; 6,877,709; 6,329,925;7,289,037; 7,249,860; and/or 6,483,438, and/or U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005, and published Mar. 23, 2006 asU.S. Patent Publication No. US 2006/0061008, which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties).

Mirror casing 112 comprises a plastic or polymeric molded casing havingat least one generally planar front attachment surface or panel or wall118 and upper, lower and side walls or outer surfaces 119 around theperiphery of the mirror casing. In the illustrated embodiment, and asshown in FIG. 10, the mirror casing 112 is formed with two spaced apartattachment panels or surfaces 118, with the central region of the casinghaving a central cavity 124 and pivot mount 125 for receiving orattaching to a pivot mounting arm of a mounting structure of the mirrorassembly. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the rear portion of the casing 112may have recesses 126 formed therein. Such recesses 126 are formedduring the molding of mirror casing so that mirror casing 112 may beunitarily molded (such as via injection molding), whereby the centralcavity 124 is established to be open at the front portion of the mirrorcasing and the recesses 126 are open at the rear portion of the mirrorcasing. The recesses may be closed or covered via cap portions orstructural elements 130 a-c (such as shown in FIGS. 11A-C, respectively)or the like, and such cap portions may be for aesthetic purposes and/ormay include one or more accessories, such as by utilizing aspects of themirror assemblies described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,289,037, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Optionally, the mirror casing may be otherwise formed with a centralcavity and generally planar attachment panels or surfaces or wings. Forexample, the mirror casing may include the center portion and centralcavity and side panels or wings, but without the rear recesses and sidewalls and upper and lower walls around the perimeter of the side panels.Optionally, the mirror casing may comprise an injected molded plastic orpolymeric casing, or may comprise a stamped metallic casing or may be anotherwise formed plastic or polymeric or metallic casing, whileremaining within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

The reflective element 114 thus may be readily attached to the frontsurfaces 118 of the mirror casing 112. The reflective element 114 thusmay be fixedly attached to the mirror casing 112 and may be pivoted withthe mirror casing 112 relative to the mounting assembly to adjust therearward field of view to the driver of the vehicle. The reflectiveelement may be adhesively attached to the attachment surfaces of themirror casing, or may be otherwise attached to the mirror casing, whileremaining within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Forexample, the reflective element may include or may be adhered to a backplate structure that includes attachment elements for connecting tocorresponding attachment elements of the mirror casing. For example, theback plate may include flexible tabs extending therefrom that flex toengage and snap to corresponding slots and tabs at the mirror casing tosecure the reflective element to the mirror casing. The reflectiveelement thus may be attached to the mirror casing via other suitableattachment means while the bezel portion 116 encompasses or overlaps theperimeter edge and a perimeter region of the front surface of thereflective element and snaps or otherwise attaches to the mirror casing112.

Optionally, and with reference to FIGS. 11A-11C, the recesses 118 at therear of mirror casing 112 may have a structural element or cap portion130 a-130 c disposed therein. The cap portion or portions may be foraesthetic purposes and/or may provide structural rigidity to the mirrorcasing and may enclose or encompass the recesses to provide an enhanced,generally uniform appearance to the back of the mirror casing.Optionally, the element or elements may include accessories or circuitryor the like to provide optional electrical content to the mirrorassembly, depending on the particular application of the mirror assembly(such as by utilizing aspects of the mirror assemblies described in U.S.Pat. No. 7,289,037, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference inits entirety). Optionally, the element or elements may be customized orselected by the vehicle manufacturer or dealership or vehicle owner toprovide a desired appearance to the mirror casing (such as by utilizingaspects of the mirror assemblies described in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/912,576, filed Oct. 25, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,626,749,which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety).

Optionally, and with reference to FIG. 12, an interior rearview mirrorassembly 110′ includes a casing 112′, a reflective element 114′positioned at a front portion of the casing 112′ with a front casingportion 119 a′ disposed around a periphery of the rear substrate 142′ ofthe reflective element 114′. Mirror assembly 110′ is adjustably mountedto an interior portion of a vehicle (such as to an interior or in-cabinsurface of a vehicle windshield or a headliner of a vehicle or the like)via a mounting structure or mounting configuration or assembly 130′,such as in a similar manner as described above. The front casing portionor outer wall of the front casing portion 119 a receives the rearsubstrate 142′ of the reflective element therein and encompasses theperimeter edges 142 c′ of the rear substrate 142′ of the reflectiveelement 114′. As can be seen in FIG. 12, the front casing portion 112′abuts or is in close proximity to the rear surface 140 b′ of the frontsubstrate 140′ and does not overlap or encompass the perimeter edges ofthe front substrate 140′ and does not overlap or encompass the perimeterregions of the front surface of the reflective element 114′, and thefront substrate 140′ includes a ground or curved or rounded surface orbevel or contour or curvature 140 c′ at the front perimeter edge andside edge dimension to provide a smooth continuous transition betweenthe generally planar front surface 140 a of the front substrate 140′ andthe generally planar or beveled or contoured or curved exterior surface119 b′ of the front casing portion 119 a′ of mirror casing 112′, asdiscussed below. The rear substrate 142′ may be bonded or adhered (suchas via an adhesive tape or the like that may also function as ananti-scatter barrier or element at the rear substrate of the reflectiveelement) to an attachment surface or panel 118′ of mirror casing 112′,such as in a similar manner as described above.

In the illustrated embodiment, reflective element 114′ comprises anelectro-optic (such as electrochromic) reflective element or maycomprise a prismatic or wedge-shaped reflective element. Reflectiveelement 114′ includes front substrate 140′ having front or first surface140 a′ (the surface that generally faces the driver of a vehicle whenthe mirror assembly is normally mounted in the vehicle) and rear orsecond surface 140 b′ opposite the front surface 140 a′, and a rearsubstrate 142′ having a front or third surface 142 a′ and a rear orfourth surface 142 b′ opposite the front surface 142 a′, with anelectro-optic medium 144′ disposed between the second surface 140 b′ andthe third surface 142 a′ and bounded by a perimeter seal 146′ of thereflective element (such as is known in the electrochromic mirror art).The second surface 140 a′ has a transparent conductive coatingestablished thereat, while the third surface 142 a′ has a conductivecoating (such as a metallic reflector coating for a third surfacereflector mirror element or such as a transparent conductive coating fora fourth surface reflector mirror element) established thereat.

Reflective element 114′ includes an opaque or substantially opaque orhiding perimeter layer or coating or band 143′ disposed around aperimeter edge region of the front substrate 140′ (such as at aperimeter region of the rear or second surface 140 b′ of the frontsubstrate) to conceal or hide or the perimeter seal from viewing by thedriver of the vehicle when the mirror assembly is normally mounted inthe vehicle. Such a hiding layer or perimeter band may be reflective(such as specularly reflective) or not reflective and may utilizeaspects of the perimeter bands and mirror assemblies described in U.S.Pat. Nos. 7,626,749; 7,274,501; 7,184,190; and/or 7,255,451, PCTApplication No. PCT/US2006/018567, filed May 15, 2006, which publishedJul. 5, 2007 as International Publication No. WO 2006/124682; PCTApplication No. PCT/US2003/029776, filed Sep. 19, 2003, which publishedApr. 1, 2004 as International Publication No. WO 04/026633; and/or PCTApplication No. PCT/US2003/035381, filed Nov. 5, 2003, which publishedMay 21, 2004 as International Publication No. WO 2004/042457, and/orU.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005, andpublished Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S. Patent Publication No. US 2006/0061008,which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.Optionally, the perimeter band may comprise a chrome/chromium coating ormetallic coating and/or may comprise a chrome/chromium or metalliccoating that has a reduced reflectance, such as by using an oxidizedchrome coating or chromium oxide coating or “black chrome” coating orthe like (such as by utilizing aspects of the mirror assembliesdescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,184,190 and/or 7,255,451, which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties). Optionally, otheropaque or substantially opaque coatings or bands may be implementedwhile remaining within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Optionally, the perimeter border layer or band may be established viaany suitable means, such as screen printing or vacuum deposition or thelike. Optionally, the perimeter or border band (either specularlyreflecting or non-reflecting or the like) may be established at thefront surface of the front substrate (such as over the curved perimeteredge and a perimeter region of the front surface of the frontsubstrate). Optionally, the front substrate may be frosted or diffusedat the perimeter region so that the perimeter seal and mirror casing areconcealed or rendered covert to a person viewing the mirror assembly andreflective element when the mirror assembly is normally mounted in avehicle.

The reflective element 114′ and mirror casing 112′ are adjustablerelative to the mounting arm or pivot assembly 130′ to adjust thedriver's rearward field of view when the mirror assembly is normallymounted at or in the vehicle. In the illustrated embodiment, mountingassembly 130′ comprises a double-ball or double-pivot mounting assemblywhereby the reflective element and casing are adjustable relative to thevehicle windshield (or other interior or in-cabin portion of thevehicle) about a pair of pivot joints. Mounting assembly 130′ includes abase portion or mounting base 132′ and a mounting arm 134′, with themounting arm 134′ pivotally mounted at the mounting base 132′ at a baseor first ball pivot joint and the reflective element 114′ and mirrorcasing 112′ pivotally mounted at mounting arm 134′ about a mirror orsecond ball pivot joint. Optionally, the mounting assembly may compriseother types of mounting configurations, such as a single-ball orsingle-pivot mounting configuration or the like, while remaining withinthe spirit and scope of the present invention.

Mirror casing 112′ comprises a plastic or polymeric molded casing thatmay attach to the mounting assembly 130′ via any suitable manner. Thecasing may comprise any suitable casing construction, and has a forwardperimeter edge or receiving portion 119 a′ for receiving the rearsubstrate 142′ of the mirror reflective element 114′ therein, and mayhave the attachment panel or panels integrally molded with the outercasing walls 119′, such as in a similar manner as described above.Optionally, the mirror casing may include cap portions that may includeone or more accessories, such as by utilizing aspects of the mirrorassemblies described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,289,037, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

As can be seen in FIG. 12, front surface 140 a′ of front substrate 140′includes a perimeter portion or element that has an outer curved frontedge or surface 140 c′ (that may be ground or otherwise formed orestablished) that provides a smooth or curved transition surface betweenthe front surface 140 a′ of the reflective element 114′ and the exteriorsurface 119 b′ of the front casing portion 119 a′ of walls 119′ ofmirror casing 112′ (which is generally coplanar or generally flush withthe rear perimeter edge dimension 140 d′ of front substrate 140′ whenthe mirror reflective element 114′ is received in front casing portion119 a′ of mirror casing 112′). The front casing portion 119 a′ abuts oris in close proximity to the rear surface 140 b′ of front substrate 140′to encompass the rear substrate 142′ and the perimeter seal 146′ andelectro-optic medium 144′, and the perimeter band 143′ hides or concealsthe perimeter seal 146′ from view by a person viewing the reflectiveelement when the mirror assembly is normally mounted in a vehicle. Thereflective element 114′ thus may utilize aspects of the reflectiveelement assemblies described in U.S. provisional application Ser. No.61/261,839, filed Nov. 17, 2009, which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

In the illustrated embodiment, the radius of curvature of the curvedsurface 140 c′ of front substrate 140′ is about 2.5 mm or about 3 mm orthereabouts, but may be greater than or less than this dimensiondepending on the particular application of the reflective element andmirror casing of the mirror assembly. Typically, it is desired to haveat least about a 2.5 mm radius of curvature at the perimeter edges of amirror assembly (typically at a bezel of a conventional mirror assembly)to meet the minimum safety standards for head impact with the mirror,such as during a sudden stop or collision of the equipped vehicle.

Thus, the bevel or contour or curvature of the curved edges 140 c′ ofthe front substrate 140′ and the bevel or contour or curvature ofsurface 119 b′ of the mirror casing 112′ may generally align or match toprovide a generally continuous surface or contour or curvature at thejunction of the front substrate and the mirror casing. Any interfacebetween the front substrate and the mirror casing may be reduced orminimized, such as by a close fit arrangement of the front substrate andmirror casing and/or by the glass front substrate slightly nesting intoa the mirror casing (such as via a slight lip at the mirror casing thatmay overlap a slight portion of the side perimeter edge of mirror frontsubstrate), or such as by affirmatively filling any gap between thefront substrate and mirror casing with a gap closing or gap fillingmaterial or means. Therefore, the mirror casing 112′ receives the rearsubstrate 142′ of the reflective element therein and does not encompassthe perimeter edges of the front substrate or the front surface 140 a′of the reflective element such that the entire front surface 140 a′ ofthe reflective element 114′ is exposed and viewable by the driver of avehicle when the mirror assembly is normally mounted in the vehicle. Thecurved transition surface 140 c′ of the front substrate 140′ provides asmooth continuous curved transition between the generally planar frontsurface 140 a′ of the front substrate 140′ and the generally planar orcurved or contoured or beveled exterior surface 119 b′ of the mirrorcasing 112′. The front substrate thus has larger cross dimensionsrelative to the rear substrate so that the front substrate extendsbeyond corresponding edges of the rear substrate, and the perimeter edgeof the front substrate of the reflective element is exposed and viewableby the driver of the vehicle when the reflective element is attached tothe attachment surface or panel and when the mirror assembly is normallymounted in the equipped vehicle. The exposed perimeter edge of the frontsubstrate has a rounded front portion to provide a curved transitionbetween a front surface of the front substrate and the exterior surfaceof the mirror casing.

Optionally, the mirror assembly of the present invention may have amirror casing that has the reflective element adhered thereto, and thatdoes not include recesses formed at the rear of the mirror casing. Forexample, and with reference to FIGS. 18-23, a mirror assembly 210includes a casing 212 and a bezelless reflective element 214 (having aforward edge portion 215 a of a perimeter edge 215 rounded to provide asmooth curved transition between the perimeter region of a front surface214 a of reflective element 214 and perimeter edge 215 and mirror casing212, such as discussed above with respect to mirror assembly 10)positioned at a front portion of the casing 212. Mirror assembly 210 isadjustably mounted to an interior portion of a vehicle (such as to aninterior or in-cabin surface of a vehicle windshield or a headliner of avehicle or the like) via a mounting structure or mounting configurationor assembly (not shown in FIGS. 18-23), such as in a similar manner asdiscussed above. The mirror assembly 210 includes an attachment plate218 that is bonded to (such as via an adhesive tape or other suitableadhesive layer or material or the like) the rear surface of reflectiveelement 214, such as shown in FIG. 21. Mirror casing 212 attaches toattachment plate 218 at the rear of the reflective element and mirrorcasing 212 has a solid or non-recessed rear surface 212 c (FIGS. 19, 20,22 and 23) and does not include recesses established thereat.

In the illustrated embodiment, attachment plate 218 includes a frontmounting surface or panel 218 a to which a rear surface of thereflective element 214 is attached, such as via an adhesive or adhesivetape or the like. Attachment plate 218 includes a perimeter wall orflange 218 b that extends rearward from panel 218 a to provide anattaching flange to which mirror casing 212 is attached. As shown inFIG. 21, attachment plate 218 may include toggle mounting walls orelements 218 c that protrude rearward from panel 218 a and that mayinclude toggle attaching elements or snap elements to facilitateattachment of or mounting of toggle device 222 at or to the attachmentplate 218.

When the reflective element 214 is attached or adhered to panel 218 a ofattachment plate 218, the perimeter edges of the mirror substrate orreflective element extend beyond the perimeter edges and perimeterflange 218 b to establish overhang regions 214 b of reflective element214, as can be seen in FIG. 21. The flange and mirror casing areconfigured to provide attachment of the casing to the attachment plate.For example, the flange or rib 218 b may have slots or snap elementsformed therein that are similar to slots or snap elements on bezelsand/or casings of known snap-together mirror designs, and the mirrorcasing may include snap or latch elements or features or slots atlocations that correspond to the respective features or elements on theflange of the attachment plate, so as to substantially retain or lockthe two components together when the mirror casing is moved intoengagement with the flange of the attachment plate. As shown in FIGS. 22and 23, when the mirror casing 212 is attached to attachment plate 218(such as via the mirror casing snapping and/or adhering to the flange ofthe attachment plate), the forward edges 219 a of the perimeter walls219 of mirror casing generally abut or approach the perimeter regions ofthe rear surface of the reflective element and the perimeter edgeregions of the reflective element are flush with or generally co-planarwith the outer surfaces of the sidewalls of the mirror casing, such asin a similar manner as discussed above with respect to mirror assembly10.

Thus, the mirror casing 212 may be molded (such as via injectionmolding) and may be attached to the attachment plate 218. When soattached, the toggle element or flip element or tab 222 a of toggleassembly 222 (disposed at and mounted at the rear of attachment plate218) is received or inserted through an opening or aperture 212 a formedat a lower region of mirror casing 212, and the socket element orreceiving portion 222 b of toggle device 222 is disposed at (andoptionally at least partially through) an opening or aperture 212 b at arear portion of mirror casing 212. The toggle body 222 c of toggledevice 222 may be secured or attached or mounted at toggle mountingwalls 218 c of attachment plate 218, such as via snapping the bodyportion 222 c of toggle device 222 to snap elements or attachmentelements formed or molded at walls 218 c of attachment plate 218.

The mounting arm or mounting element (not shown in FIGS. 18-23) attachesto receiving portion 222 b of toggle device 222 to attach the mirrorcasing 212 and attachment plate 218 and reflective element 214 to themounting structure. An adhesive layer or tape or element is disposedbetween the front surface of the attachment panel 218 a of attachmentplate 218 and reflective element 214 to adhere or attach the reflectiveelement 214 to the attachment plate 218. The mirror casing 212 may snapor adhere to the attachment plate 218, whereby the perimeter edges ofthe reflective element are generally flush with the outer surfaces ofthe perimeter walls of the mirror casing. The mirror casing may comprisean injection molded casing, with its perimeter walls and rear walls orsurfaces unitarily formed together and establishing or providing acavity within the mirror assembly and between the casing and theattachment plate when the mirror casing is attached to the attachmentplate. The cavity may house one or more accessories or circuitry or thelike within the mirror assembly. Mirror assembly 210 may otherwise besubstantially similar to mirror assembly 10, discussed above, such thata detailed discussion of the mirror assemblies need not be repeatedherein.

In the illustrated embodiment, the reflective element of mirror assembly210 comprises a prismatic reflective element that can be flipped ortoggled between a daytime position and a nighttime position via thetoggle device. Although shown and described as being a prismaticreflective element, it is envisioned that a mirror assembly similar tomirror assembly 210 may include or support an electro-optic reflectiveelement (such as, for example, an electrochromic reflective element orthe like). In such an application, the attachment plate may be adheredor bonded to the rear of the rear substrate of the reflective elementand the mirror casing may receive the flange of the attachment plate andthe rear substrate and perimeter seal and electro-optic medium therein,with the forward periphery edges of the mirror casing abutting or beingin close proximity to the rear surface of the front substrate, such asin a similar manner as discussed above with respect to mirror assembly110′.

The exposed front substrate of an electro-optic mirror reflectiveelement or the exposed substrate of a prismatic mirror reflectiveelement of a mirror assembly of the present invention preferably hasrounded or curved or ground and/or polished perimeter edges to provide asmooth transition between the generally planar front surface of themirror element (that is viewed by the driver of the vehicle when themirror assembly is normally mounted in the vehicle) and the outersurfaces of the walls of the mirror casing. The substrate may be cut ormachined or otherwise formed via any suitable forming process and thecurved or rounded perimeter edges of the substrate may be ground orotherwise established via any suitable forming process, while remainingwithin the spirit and scope of the present invention.

For example, the mirror glass substrate may be machined via a ComputerNumerical Control (CNC) type equipment or process, where the mirrorglass may be aligned and fixed to a fixture which properly supports andpositions the mirror glass substrate. The grinding and polishing wheelsare typically attached to a moving head which follows a predeterminedprogram and moves around the perimeter of the mirror glass substrate.The wheel centerline is typically, but not always, at about a 90 degreeangle relative to the front surface of the mirror glass to apply a sharpedge radius at the perimeter edge of the mirror glass substrate.Optionally, the wheel may pivot on its centerline axis to maintain aselected or appropriate or proper angle relative to the appropriatemirror glass surface to apply the required edge application. An exampleof such a machining application is for establishing or applying the rearseam to the mirror glass substrate when the mirror glass is in a fixedposition.

Optionally, the mirror glass substrate may be formed or established viaa robot controlled wheel movement. Such a process is similar to the CNCmachining process, discussed above, and the mirror glass substrate isaligned and fixed to a fixture which properly supports and positions themirror glass substrate. The grinding and polishing wheels are attachedto the end of the robot arm and manipulated around the perimeter of themirror glass in accordance with a predetermined program to establish thedesired or selected edge profile around the mirror glass substrate.Another optional approach is a robot controlled substrate movementprocess, where the mirror glass substrate is aligned and fixed to therobot End of Arm Tooling (EOAT), and where the grinding and polishingwheels are in fixed positions. Per a predetermined program, the robotmanipulates the EOAT with the mirror glass around the grind and polishwheels, thereby establishing and maintaining the proper part profile.The wheel centerline is typically, but not always, at about a 90 degreeangle relative to the front surface of the mirror glass substrate toapply the edge radius. However, the wheel may pivot on its centerlineaxis to establish and maintain the proper angle relative to theappropriate mirror glass surface to apply the required edge application.

Optionally, other means may be utilized to establish the desired orappropriate or selected edge radius around the perimeter edge of theexposed substrate. For example, a radius edge of about a 2.5 mm radiusor more (a minimum of about a 2.5 mm radius is desired or required onthe exposed mirror glass edge for safety reasons) may be established viaany suitable means. The radius applied to the mirror glass edge may begreater than about 2.5 mm, such as about a 3.0 mm edge radius or more. Alarger edge radius (such as about 3.0 mm) may be selected to allow fortool wear during the grind and polish process, while ensuring that thesubstrate has a minimum of about a 2.5 mm radius, as well as produce apleasing appearance at the glass edge. Once the tool wears from about a3.0 mm radius sufficiently enough to produce about a 2.5 mm radius, thetool then may have the about 3.0 mm radius reapplied. A larger radiusmay be applied, ensuring that the minimum field of view of thereflective element is maintained, as required, at the front surface ofthe glass between the radius tangency points.

The grinding of the perimeter edges may be accomplished via any suitablegrinding/polishing tools. For example, the grinding process can be doneusing a single grind wheel or a series of grinding wheels at varyingdegrees of coarseness. A typical process may have one coarse grind wheeland one fine grind wheel. The coarse grind wheel could be of, forexample, about a 150-200 grit level, while the fine grind wheel could beof, for example, about a 200-500 grit level. If a single grind wheel isused, it could be of, for example, about a 200-250 grit level orthereabouts or other suitable grit level. The grinding wheel istypically a metal bond type wheel impregnated with a diamond cuttingmedia, but other forms of grinding wheels or means may be contemplatedwithin the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Optionally, the rear seam grinding process may be achieved in the sameor similar manner as the radius edge grind. For example, a grindingwheel (many shapes possible: flat angled, beveled, convex, concave,and/or the like) may be used along the rear edge to seam and seal thepainted edge with a single grind wheel. Such a grind wheel may be of,for example, about a 200-250 grit level.

The polishing process can be done using many different types of wheelcompounds, including, but not limited to, clay, rubber, felt,metal/resin hybrids, cork, urethane, and/or the like. A polishing mediamay be applied, including, but not limited to, water, oils, polishingcompounds (rouge), and/or the like. The polishing wheels may be ofvarying hardness levels, and may include one or several levels and/orwheels within the process.

During the grinding and/or polishing processes, a coolant may be used tolimit heating of the glass substrate as it is ground and/or polished.For example, a typical processing coolant for mirror glass grinding andpolishing is water, and optionally a series of oils or compounds may beadded, if required or desired, to limit or reduce or prevent equipmentrusting or bacteria growth, or to improve the level of surface finish.Typical water filtration may be sufficient to provide filtering down toabout 5 microns. The quantity of water flow should be sufficient tosupply coolant liquid to the glass/wheel surfaces from the inside(through head coolant) and outside (via spray nozzles, hose and/or thelike). Typical water flow requirements are 50-80 gpm, but this can beprocess and equipment dependent.

During the grinding operation, a typical grinding process may have thegrinding wheel spinning at about 4,000-6,000 RPM (or more or less), witha feed rate from about 120 in/min to about 400 in/min (or faster orslower), depending on process requirements, part dimensional features(such as a thinner edge of the glass substrate versus a thicker edge ofthe glass substrate), wheel composition and/or the like. The feed ratescan vary during the grinding process as the grinding wheel moves alongmirror glass edge, or the feed rates may be maintained constant duringthe grinding process or operation. During the polishing operation, atypical polishing process may have a polishing wheel spinning at about3,000-5,000 RPM (or more or less), with a feed rate from about 30 in/minto about 200 in/min (or faster or slower feed rate), depending onprocess requirements, part dimensional features (such as a thinner edgeof the glass substrate versus a thicker edge of the glass substrate),wheel composition and/or the like. The feed rates can vary during thepolishing process as the polishing wheel moves along mirror glass edge,or the feed rates may be maintained constant during the polishingprocess or operation.

Optionally, and desirably, the mirror glass may be held via partfixturing during the grinding and/or polishing processes. For example,the mirror glass is typically held in such a way that it is at therequired angle to the grind or polish wheel with all sides or edges ofthe mirror glass being able to be exposed to the grind or polish wheel,while maintaining the desired or selected or required part profile. Suchpart fixturing can be accomplished by a typical fixture that holds theproperly aligned mirror glass by use of vacuum (such as via a suctioncup type device that engages a surface of the mirror glass substrateinboard of the perimeter edges of the mirror glass substrate), keepingall edges exposed around the entire profile, while preventing the mirrorglass from moving on the fixture and becoming misaligned relative to thegrinding or polishing wheel. Another method may be to hold the prismbetween a lower support member and an upper retention arm that can pivotas needed to allow the selected or required mirror glass edge to beexposed to the grinding or polishing wheel. Such holding or fixturingmethods may apply for fixtures used on CNC type equipment, robotcontrolled prism or wheel movement or the like, or any other suitablemethod for applying the grinding and polishing processes to theperimeter edges of the mirror glass substrate.

Optionally, for example, a method of preventing the mirror glass frommoving, shifting and/or sliding at or on the surface of the fixture (andthus losing proper alignment) when lateral forces are applied during thegrinding and polishing process may include applying a rubber or siliconematerial to the top of the fixture, beneath the mirror glass. Such amaterial may function to grip the under surface of the mirror glass asit is positioned on the fixture. A series of holes or channels may beestablished in or through the grip material to allow sufficient vacuumbe drawn through the material via a vacuum source or the like.

Optionally, the selected or desired part geometry and profile of themirror glass substrate may require unique or shared fixtures for manyparts. The mirror glass must be sufficiently supported on the fixtureside, while maintaining an exposed perimeter of about 3 mm to about 8 mm(or more or less) around the fixture to glass edge for proper grindingor polishing wheel clearance. This will help prevent the grinding orpolishing wheel from contacting the fixture edge during operation, andsuch as when tool wear occurs and excessive wheel protrusion to themirror glass underside takes place. The level of the exposed backsideperimeter clearance desired or required is dependent on, but not limitedto, the part geometry, the material thickness of the substrate, the partto wheel movement rates, the required surface finish, the speed of theprocess, the forces applied on the mirror glass substrate from thegrinding wheel or polishing wheel and/or the like.

Therefore, the present invention provides a mirror assembly comprising ahousing or casing having a two pocket or recessed back design, whichallows for the mirror substrate to be adhered or otherwise attached tothe attachment panel or panels or surfaces of the mirror casing, therebyeliminating the need for a separate attachment plate. The presentinvention also provides a bezelless mirror assembly comprising a mirrorglass substrate (either a prismatic substrate or a planar substrate or afront substrate of an electro-optic reflective element) that has anexposed perimeter edge radius which gives the mirror a unique appearanceand can eliminate the need for a bezel in electro-optic mirrors.Optionally, for example, a mirror assembly of the present invention maycomprise a prismatic or planar reflective element that has exposedcurved or rounded perimeter edges (and either is bonded to theattachment panels of the mirror casing without an attachment plate or isbonded to an attachment plate), thereby eliminating the need for aseparate bezel element, or a mirror assembly of the present inventionmay comprise a prismatic or planar reflective element that is bonded tothe attachment panels of the mirror casing (thereby eliminating the needfor a separate attachment plate) and has a bezel portion around itsperimeter edges. Optionally, for example, a mirror assembly of thepresent invention may comprise an electro-optic reflective element (suchas an electrochromic reflective element) that has exposed curved orrounded perimeter edges of a front substrate (and either is bonded tothe attachment panels of the mirror casing without an attachment plateor is bonded to an attachment plate)), thereby eliminating the need fora separate bezel element, or a mirror assembly of the present inventionmay comprise an electro-optic reflective element (such as anelectrochromic reflective element) that is bonded to the attachmentpanels of the mirror casing (thereby eliminating the need for a separateattachment plate) and has a bezel portion around its perimeter edges.

The present invention thus provides a mirror assembly comprising arecessed mirror casing (with the attachment panels or surfaces forattachment of the mirror reflective element thereto) that has generallyplanar reflective element attachment surfaces such that the reflectiveelement is adhered or attached to a front or mounting surface of themirror casing, with no separate mounting or backing plate at thereflective element for mounting the reflective element at or in themirror casing and bezel portion. Thus, the mirror assembly may bereadily assembled by attaching the mounting arm or structure to aunitarily molded mirror casing and attaching the reflective element tothe unitary mirror casing to retain the reflective element at the mirrorcasing, and the bezel portion may be readily snapped or attached at theforward perimeter edges of the mirror casing. For mirror applicationswith one or more mirror-based accessories, the accessory or accessoriesmay be received in or disposed at the rear recesses or cavities formedat the rear of the mirror casing and/or may be disposed at the mountingstructure of the mirror assembly.

Although shown and described as interior rearview mirror assembliesattached to a windshield or in-cabin portion of a vehicle, it isenvisioned that aspects of the present invention may be suitable for usein exterior rearview mirror applications. For example, an exteriorrearview mirror may have a generally planar mirror glass substrate withrounded or curved exposed perimeter edges or may have an electro-opticreflective element with an oversized front substrate that has therounded or curved exposed perimeter edges, while the rear substrate isreceived in the mirror casing. In applications where the mirrorsubstrate is adhered or attached to the mirror casing panel or panels,the mirror casing itself may be adjustable relative to the side of thevehicle to which it is mounted to provide adjustment of the rearward andsideward field of view of the driver of the vehicle.

The rearview mirror assembly may comprise a prismatic mirror assembly(typically for interior mirror applications) or a non-electro-opticmirror assembly (such as a generally planar or optionally slightlycurved mirror substrate typically for exterior mirror applications) oran electro-optic or electrochromic mirror assembly. For example, therearview mirror assembly may comprise a prismatic mirror assembly, suchas the types described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,289,037; 7,249,860;6,318,870; 6,598,980; 5,327,288; 4,948,242; 4,826,289; 4,436,371; and4,435,042; and PCT Application No. PCT/US2004/015424, filed May 18,2004, and published on Dec. 2, 2004, as International Publication No. WO2004/103772, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties. Optionally, the prismatic reflective element may comprise aconventional prismatic reflective element or prism or may comprise aprismatic reflective element of the types described in U.S. Pat. Nos.7,420,756; 7,289,037; 7,274,501; 7,249,860; 7,338,177; and/or 7,255,451,and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2003/029776, filed Sep. 19, 2003, andpublished Apr. 1, 2004 as International Publication No. WO 2004/026633;and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2004/015424, filed May 18, 2004, andpublished on Dec. 2, 2004, as International Publication No. WO2004/103772, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties, without affecting the scope of the present invention.A variety of mirror accessories and constructions are known in the art,such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,555,136; 5,582,383;5,680,263; 5,984,482; 6,227,675; 6,229,319; and 6,315,421 (the entiredisclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein), thatcan benefit from the present invention.

Optionally, it is envisioned that the mirror assembly may comprise anelectro-optic or electrochromic mirror assembly and may include anelectro-optic or electrochromic reflective element. In such anembodiment, the perimeter of the reflective element may be encased orencompassed by a perimeter element to conceal and contain and envelopthe perimeter edges of the substrates and the perimeter seal disposedtherebetween. The electrochromic mirror element of the electrochromicmirror assembly may utilize the principles disclosed in commonlyassigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,690,268; 5,140,455; 5,151,816; 6,178,034;6,154,306; 6,002,544; 5,567,360; 5,525,264; 5,610,756; 5,406,414;5,253,109; 5,076,673; 5,073,012; 5,117,346; 5,724,187; 5,668,663;5,910,854; 5,142,407 and/or 4,712,879, and/or PCT Application No.PCT/US2010/029173, filed Mar. 30, 2010, which published Oct. 7, 2010 asInternational Publication No. WO 2010/114825, which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties, and/or asdisclosed in the following publications: N. R. Lynam, “ElectrochromicAutomotive Day/Night Mirrors”, SAE Technical Paper Series 870636 (1987);N. R. Lynam, “Smart Windows for Automobiles”, SAE Technical Paper Series900419 (1990); N. R. Lynam and A. Agrawal, “Automotive Applications ofChromogenic Materials”, Large Area Chromogenics: Materials and Devicesfor Transmittance Control, C. M. Lampert and C. G. Granquist, EDS.,Optical Engineering Press, Wash. (1990), which are hereby incorporatedby reference herein in their entireties; and/or as described in U.S.Pat. No. 7,195,381, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference inits entirety. Optionally, the electrochromic circuitry and/or a glaresensor (such as a rearward facing glare sensor that receives light fromrearward of the mirror assembly and vehicle through a port or openingalong the casing and/or reflective element of the mirror assembly) andcircuitry and/or an ambient light sensor and circuitry may be providedon one or more circuit boards of the mirror assembly. The mirrorassembly may include one or more other displays, such as the typesdisclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,530,240 and/or 6,329,925, which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties, and/ordisplay-on-demand transflective type displays, such as the typesdisclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,274,501; 7,255,451; 7,195,381; 7,184,190;5,668,663; 5,724,187 and/or 6,690,268, and/or in U.S. patentapplications, Ser. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005, and publishedMar. 23, 2006 as U.S. Patent Publication No. US 2006/0061008; and/orSer. No. 10/538,724, filed Jun. 13, 2005, published Mar. 9, 2006 as U.S.Patent Publication No. US 2006/0050018, and/or PCT Application No.PCT/US2003/029776, filed Sep. 9, 2003, and published Apr. 1, 2004 asInternational Publication No. WO 2004/026633, which are all herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties. The thicknessesand materials of the coatings on the substrates, such as on the thirdsurface of the reflective element assembly, may be selected to provide adesired color or tint to the mirror reflective element, such as a bluecolored reflector, such as is known in the art and such as described inU.S. Pat. Nos. 5,910,854; 6,420,036; and/or 7,274,501, and in PCTApplication No. PCT/US2003/029776, filed Sep. 9, 2003, and publishedApr. 1, 2004 as International Publication No. WO 2004/026633, which areall hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Optionally, the mirror assembly may include user interface inputs, suchas buttons or switches or touch or proximity sensors or the like, withwhich a user may adjust or control one or more accessories, such as viathe principles described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,360,932, and/or U.S. patentapplications, Ser. No. 12/091,525, filed Apr. 25, 2008, now U.S. Pat.No. 7,855,755; Ser. No. 11/239,980, filed Sep. 30, 2005, now U.S. Pat.No. 7,881,496; and/or Ser. No. 12/576,550, filed Oct. 9, 2009, now U.S.Pat. No. 8,465,161, and/or U.S. provisional application Ser. No.60/618,686, filed Oct. 14, 2004, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

The rearview mirror assembly may include a casing, such as describedabove, or the mirror assembly may comprise or utilize aspects of othertypes of casings or the like, such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos.7,338,177; 7,289,037; 7,249,860; 6,439,755; 4,826,289; and 6,501,387;and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2004/015424, filed May 18, 2004, andpublished on Dec. 2, 2004, as International Publication No. WO2004/103772, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties, without affecting the scope of the present invention.For example, the mirror assembly may utilize aspects of the flush orframeless or bezelless reflective elements described in U.S. Pat. Nos.7,289,037; 7,255,451; 7,274,501; and/or 7,184,190, and/or in PCTApplication No. PCT/US2004/015424, filed May 18, 2004, and published onDec. 2, 2004, as International Publication No. WO 2004/103772; PCTApplication No. PCT/US2003/035381, filed Nov. 5, 2003, and published May21, 2004 as International Publication No. WO 2004/042457; and/or in U.S.patent applications, Ser. No. 11/140,396, filed May 27, 2005, now U.S.Pat. No. 7,360,932; Ser. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005, andpublished Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S. Patent Publication No. US 2006/0061008;Ser. No. 11/912,576, filed Oct. 25, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,626,749;and/or Ser. No. 10/538,724, filed Jun. 13, 2005, published Mar. 9, 2006as U.S. Patent Publication No. US 2006/0050018, which are all herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Optionally, the mirror assembly may comprise a modular mirrorconstruction, and may include back housing portions or the like, such ascap portions of the types described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,289,037 and PCTApplication No. PCT/US2004/015424, filed May 18, 2004, and published onDec. 2, 2004, as International Publication No. WO 2004/103772, which arehereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. A displayscreen may be provided as a modular display screen and may be mountableor installable in the appropriate or suitable mirror casing to provide amodular mirror assembly and display screen. For example, a rear casingor cap portion may include the display screen module including theassociated components, such as the rails and motor and the like for avideo slide-out module (such as by utilizing aspects of the videomirrors described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,370,983 and 6,690,268, and/or U.S.patent applications, Ser. No. 10/538,724, filed Jun. 13, 2005, publishedMar. 9, 2006 as U.S. Patent Publication No. US 2006/0050018; and/or Ser.No. 12/091,525, filed Apr. 25, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,855,755, whichare hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties), andmay be attachable to a reflective element and/or mirror casing toassemble the modular mirror assembly. The display screen module thus maybe provided as an optional component or accessory for a vehicle, and maybe readily assembled to a common reflective element and/or mirror casingof the mirror assembly.

Optionally, the mirror casing and/or reflective element may includecustomized or personalized viewable characteristics, such as color orsymbols or indicia selected by the vehicle manufacturer or owner of thevehicle, such as the customization characteristics described in U.S.Pat. No. 7,289,037, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2004/015424, filedMay 18, 2004, and published on Dec. 2, 2004, as InternationalPublication No. WO 2004/103772; and/or U.S. patent applications, Ser.No. 11/912,576, filed Oct. 25, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,626,749; Ser.No. 11/243,783, filed Oct. 5, 2005; and/or Ser. No. 11/021,065, filedDec. 23, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,451, which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Optionally, the mirror assembly and/or prismatic or electrochromicreflective element may include one or more displays, such as for theaccessories or circuitry described herein. The displays may be of typesdisclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,530,240 and/or 6,329,925, which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties, and/or may bedisplay-on-demand or transflective type displays, such as the typesdisclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,581,859; 7,274,501; 7,195,381; 6,690,298;5,668,663 and/or 5,724,187, and/or in U.S. patent applications, Ser. No.11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005 and published Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S.Patent Publication No. US 2006/0061008; Ser. No. 12/091,525, filed Jul.15, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,855,755; and/or Ser. No. 10/993,302, filedNov. 19, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,338,177, and/or in PCT ApplicationNo. PCT/US2003/029776, filed Sep. 19, 2003, and published Apr. 1, 2004as International Publication No. WO 2004/026633, which are all herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Optionally, theprismatic reflective element may comprise a display on demand ortransflective prismatic element (such as described in U.S. Pat. No.7,274,501 and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2003/029776, filed Sep. 19,2003, and published Apr. 1, 2004 as International Publication No. WO2004/026633; and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/993,302, filedNov. 19, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,338,177, which are all herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties) so that thedisplays are viewable through the reflective element, while the displayarea still functions to substantially reflect light, in order to providea generally uniform prismatic reflective element even in the areas thathave display elements positioned behind the reflective element.

Such a video display screen device or module may comprise any type ofvideo screen and is operable to display images in response to an inputor signal from a control or imaging system. For example, the videodisplay screen may comprise a multi-pixel liquid crystal module (LCM) orliquid crystal display (LCD), preferably a thin film transistor (TFT)multi-pixel liquid crystal display (such as discussed below), or thescreen may comprise a multi-pixel organic electroluminescent display ora multi-pixel light emitting diode (LED), such as an organic lightemitting diode (OLED) or inorganic light emitting diode display or thelike, or a passive reflective and/or backlit pixelated display, or anelectroluminescent (EL) display, or a vacuum fluorescent (VF) display orthe like. For example, the video display screen may comprise a videoscreen of the types disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,370,983; 7,338,177;7,274,501; 7,255,451; 7,195,381; 7,184,190; 6,902,284; 6,690,268;6,428,172; 6,420,975; 5,668,663; 5,724,187; 5,416,313; 5,285,060;5,193,029 and/or 4,793,690, and/or U.S. patent applications, Ser. No.10/538,724, filed Jun. 13, 2005, published Mar. 9, 2006 as U.S. PatentPublication No. US 2006/0050018; Ser. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep. 14,2005 and published Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S. Patent Publication No. US2006/0061008; Ser. No. 12/091,525, filed Apr. 25, 2008, now U.S. Pat.No. 7,855,755; Ser. No. 09/585,379, filed Jun. 1, 2000; Ser. No.10/207,291, filed Jul. 29, 2002; and/or Ser. No. 10/538,724, filed Jun.13, 2005, published Mar. 9, 2006 as U.S. Patent Publication No. US2006/0050018, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

The video display screen may be controlled or operable in response to aninput or signal, such as a signal received from one or more cameras orimage sensors of the vehicle, such as a video camera or sensor, such asa CMOS imaging array sensor, a CCD sensor or the like, such as the typesdisclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,550,677; 5,760,962; 6,396,397; 6,097,023;5,877,897; and 5,796,094, and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/534,632, filed May 11, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,965,336, which arehereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties, or from oneor more imaging systems of the vehicle, such as a reverse or backup aidsystem, such as a rearwardly directed vehicle vision system utilizingprinciples disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,550,677; 5,760,962; 5,670,935;6,201,642; 6,396,397; 6,498,620; 6,717,610 and/or 6,757,109, which arehereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties, a trailerhitching aid or tow check system, such as the type disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 7,005,974, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference inits entirety, a cabin viewing or monitoring device or system, such as ababy viewing or rear seat viewing camera or device or system or thelike, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,877,897 and/or 6,690,268,which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties, avideo communication device or system, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.6,690,268, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety, and/or the like. The imaging sensor or camera may be activatedand the display screen may be activated in response to the vehicleshifting into reverse, such that the display screen is viewable by thedriver and is displaying an image of the rearward scene while the driveris reversing the vehicle.

Optionally, the mirror assembly may include or may be associated with acompass sensor and circuitry for a compass system that detects anddisplays the vehicle directional heading to a driver of the vehicle.Optionally, an integrated automotive “compass-on-a-chip” may be disposedin a cavity of the mounting base of the mirror (or within the mirrorhousing or in an attachment to the mirror mount or elsewhere within themirror assembly such as to the rear of the video screen or to the rearof the mirror reflective element) and may comprise at least twomagneto-responsive sensor elements (such as a Hall sensor or multipleHall sensors), associated A/D and D/A converters, associatedmicroprocessor(s) and memory, associated signal processing andfiltering, associated display driver and associated LIN/CAN BUSinterface and the like, all (or a sub-set thereof) created or disposedor commonly established onto a semiconductor chip surface/substrate orsilicon substrate, such as utilizing CMOS technology and/or fabricationtechniques as known in the semiconductor manufacturing arts, andconstituting an ASIC chip, such as utilizing principles described inU.S. Pat. Nos. 7,329,013 and/or 7,370,983, and/or U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005, and published Mar.23, 2006 as U.S. Patent Publication No. US 2006/0061008, which arehereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties, which arehereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties, and/or suchas by utilizing aspects of an EC driver-on-a-chip such as described inU.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/201,661, filed Aug. 11, 2005, nowU.S. Pat. No. 7,480,149, which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety. The ASIC chip may be small (preferably lessthan approximately a two square centimeter area, more preferably lessthan approximately a 1.5 square centimeter area, and most preferablyless than approximately a one square centimeter area or thereabouts) andreadily packagable into the mirror assembly (or a feed from such acompass-on-a-chip may be provided to the mirror assembly from acompass-on-a-chip packaged elsewhere in the vehicle cabin remote fromthe mirror assembly such as in an instrument panel portion or in roofconsole portion). Such large scale integration onto the likes of thesilicon substrate/chip can allow a compass functionality to be providedby a relatively small chip, and with appropriate pin out or electricalleads provided as is common in the electrical art.

Optionally, a compass chip or compass module may be disposed at an upperend of the mounting base of a mirror assembly, such as at an upper orconnecting end of a wire management element connected to or extendingfrom the mounting base of the mirror assembly, such as by utilizingaspects of the mirror systems described in U.S. patent application Ser.No. 12/578,732, filed Oct. 14, 2009 , which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety. The wire management system mayinclude a wire management element or channel or cover element, such asby utilizing aspects of the wire management systems or elementsdescribed in U.S. patent applications, Ser. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep.14, 2005, and published Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S. Patent Publication No. US2006/0061008; and/or Ser. No. 11/584,697, filed Oct. 20, 2006, now U.S.Pat. No. 7,510,287, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties.

The compass chip may be in communication with a compass display, whichmay provide a display region at the reflective element, and whichincludes ports or portions, which may comprise icons, characters orletters or the like representative of only the cardinal directionalpoints, such as, for example, the characters N, S, E, W, formed oretched in the reflective film coating of the reflective element (andforming a transparent window therein), such as via techniques such asdisclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,882,565 and/or7,004,593, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in theirentireties. Optionally, however, reflective element may comprise atransflective or display on demand (DOD) reflective element, and thecompass display may be a display on demand (DOD) type of display, suchas disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,195,381; 6,690,268;5,668,663 and 5,724,187, which are hereby incorporated by referenceherein in their entireties, without affecting the scope of the presentinvention.

Optionally, the compass system and compass circuitry may utilize aspectsof the compass systems described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,370,983; 7,329,013;7,289,037; 7,249,860; 7,004,593; 6,928,366; 6,642,851; 6,140,933;4,546,551; 5,699,044; 4,953,305; 5,576,687; 5,632,092; 5,677,851;5,708,410; 5,737,226; 5,802,727; 5,878,370; 6,087,953; 6,173,508;6,222,460; and/or 6,513,252, and/or PCT Application No.PCT/US2004/015424, filed May 18, 2004, and published on Dec. 2, 2004, asInternational Publication No. WO 2004/103772, and/or European patentapplication, published Oct. 11, 2000 under Publication No. EP 0 1043566,and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005,and published Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S. Patent Publication No. US2006/0061008, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties. The compass circuitry may include compass sensors,such as a magneto-responsive sensor, such as a magneto-resistive sensor,a magneto-capacitive sensor, a Hall sensor, a magneto-inductive sensor,a flux-gate sensor or the like. The sensor or sensors may be positionedat and within a base portion or mounting base of the mirror assembly sothat the sensor/sensors is/are substantially fixedly positioned withinthe vehicle, or may be attached or positioned within the mirror casing.Note that the magneto-responsive sensor used with the mirror assemblymay comprise a magneto-responsive sensor, such as a magneto-resistivesensor, such as the types disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,255,442;5,632,092; 5,802,727; 6,173,501; 6,427,349; and 6,513,252 (which arehereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties), or amagneto-inductive sensor, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,370(which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety), or amagneto-impedance sensor, such as the types described in PCT PublicationNo. WO 2004/076971 A2, published Sep. 10, 2004 (which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety), or a Hall-effectsensor, such as the types described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,278,271;5,942,895 and 6,184,679 (which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties). The sensor circuitry and/or thecircuitry in the mirror housing and associated with the sensor mayinclude processing circuitry. For example, a printed circuit board mayinclude processing circuitry which may include compensation methods,such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,546,551; 5,699,044;4,953,305; 5,576,687; 5,632,092; 5,677,851; 5,708,410; 5,737,226;5,802,727; 5,878,370; 6,087,953; 6,173,508; 6,222,460; and 6,642,851,which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties. The compass sensor may be incorporated in or associated witha compass system and/or display system for displaying a directionalheading of the vehicle to the driver, such as a compass system of thetypes described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,924,212; 4,862,594; 4,937,945;5,131,154; 5,255,442; 5,632,092; 7,004,593; and/or 7,289,037, and/or PCTApplication No. PCT/US2004/015424, filed May 18, 2004, and published onDec. 2, 2004, as International Publication No. WO 2004/103772, which areall hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Optionally, the mirror assembly and/or any associated user inputs may beassociated with various accessories or systems, such as, for example, atire pressure monitoring system or a passenger air bag status or agarage door opening system or a telematics system or any other accessoryor system of the mirror assembly or of the vehicle or of an accessorymodule or console of the vehicle, such as an accessory module or consoleof the types described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,289,037; 6,877,888;6,824,281; 6,690,268; 6,672,744; 6,386,742; and 6,124,886, and/or,and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2003/003012, filed Jan. 31, 2003, andpublished Aug. 7, 2003 as International Publication No. WO 03/065084,and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2003/040611, filed Dec. 19, 2003, andpublished Jul. 15, 2004 as International Publication No. WO 2004/058540,and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2004/015424, filed May 18, 2004, andpublished on Dec. 2, 2004, as International Publication No. WO2004/103772, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

Optionally, the user inputs of the mirror assembly may comprise othertypes of buttons or switches for controlling or activating/deactivatingone or more electrical accessories or devices of or associated with themirror assembly. The mirror assembly may comprise any type of switchesor buttons, such as touch or proximity sensing switches, such as touchor proximity switches of the types described above, or the inputs maycomprise other types of buttons or switches, such as those described inU.S. patent applications, Ser. No. 12/414,190, filed Mar. 30, 2009, nowU.S. Pat. No. 8,154,418, and/or Ser. No. 11/029,695, filed Jan. 5, 2005,now U.S. Pat. No. 7,253,723, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties, or such as fabric-made positiondetectors, such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,504,531;6,501,465; 6,492,980; 6,452,479; 6,437,258; and 6,369,804, which arehereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Forexample, the inputs may comprise a touch or proximity sensor of thetypes commercially available from TouchSensor Technologies, LLC ofWheaton, IL. The touch or proximity sensor may be operable to generatean electric field and to detect the presence of a conductive massentering the field. When a voltage is applied to the sensor, the sensorgenerates the electric field, which emanates through any dielectricmaterial, such as plastic or the like, at the sensor. When a conductivemass (such as a person's finger or the like, or metal or the like)enters the electric field, the sensor may detect a change in the fieldand may indicate such a detection. Other types of switches or buttons orinputs or sensors may be incorporated to provide the desired function,without affecting the scope of the present invention.

Optionally, the user inputs or buttons may comprise user inputs for agarage door opening system, such as a vehicle based garage door openingsystem of the types described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,396,408; 6,362,771;7,023,322; and 5,798,688, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties. The user inputs may also or otherwisefunction to activate and deactivate a display or function or accessory,and/or may activate/deactivate and/or commence a calibration of acompass system of the mirror assembly and/or vehicle. The compass systemmay include compass sensors and circuitry within the mirror assembly orwithin a compass pod or module at or near or associated with the mirrorassembly. Optionally, the user inputs may also or otherwise compriseuser inputs for a telematics system of the vehicle, such as, forexample, an ONSTAR® system as found in General Motors vehicles and/orsuch as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,862,594; 4,937,945; 5,131,154;5,255,442; 5,632,092; 5,798,688; 5,971,552; 5,924,212; 6,243,003;6,278,377; and 6,420,975; 6,477,464; 6,946,978; 7,308,341; 7,167,796;7,004,593; 7,657,052; and/or 6,678,614, and/or PCT Application No.PCT/US2003/040611, filed Dec. 19, 2003, and published Jul. 15, 2004 asInternational Publication No. WO 2004/058540, and/or PCT Application No.PCT/US2003/030877, filed Oct. 1, 2003, and published Apr. 15, 2004 asInternational Publication No. WO 2004/032568, which are all herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Optionally, the mirror assembly may include one or more otheraccessories at or within the mirror casing, such as one or moreelectrical or electronic devices or accessories, such as antennas,including global positioning system (GPS) or cellular phone antennas,such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,971,552, a communication module,such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,798,688, a blind spot detectionsystem, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,929,786 and/or 5,786,772,transmitters and/or receivers, such as a garage door opener or the like,a digital network, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,798,575, ahigh/low headlamp controller, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.5,796,094 and/or 5,715,093, a memory mirror system, such as disclosed inU.S. Pat. No. 5,796,176, a hands-free phone attachment, a video devicefor internal cabin surveillance and/or video telephone function, such asdisclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,760,962 and/or 5,877,897, a remote keylessentry receiver, lights, such as map reading lights or one or more otherlights or illumination sources, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.6,690,268; 5,938,321; 5,813,745; 5,820,245; 5,673,994; 5,649,756;5,178,448; 5,671,996; 4,646,210; 4,733,336; 4,807,096; 6,042,253;5,669,698; 7,195,381; 6,971,775; and/or 7,249,860, microphones, such asdisclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,243,003; 6,278,377; and/or 6,420,975;and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/529,715, filed Mar. 30, 2005,now U.S. Pat. No. 7,657,052; and/or PCT Application No.PCT/US2003/030877, filed Oct. 1, 2003, and published Apr. 15, 2004 asInternational Publication No. WO 2004/032568, speakers, antennas,including global positioning system (GPS) or cellular phone antennas,such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,971,552, a communication module,such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,798,688, a voice recorder, a blindspot detection system, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,929,786and/or 5,786,772, and/or U.S. patent applications, Ser. No. 10/427,051,filed Apr. 30, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,038,577; and Ser. No.10/209,173, filed Jul. 31, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,882,287; and/orSer. No. 11/315,675, filed Dec. 22, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,720,580,transmitters and/or receivers, such as for a garage door opener or avehicle door unlocking system or the like (such as a remote keylessentry system), a digital network, such as described in U.S. Pat. No.5,798,575, a high/low headlamp controller, such as a camera-basedheadlamp control, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,796,094 and/or5,715,093, a memory mirror system, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,796,176, a hands-free phone attachment, an imaging system orcomponents or circuitry or display thereof, such as an imaging and/ordisplay system of the types described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,690,268;6,847,487; and/or 7,400,435, and/or U.S. provisional application Ser.No. 60/618,686, filed Oct. 14, 2004, and/or U.S. patent applications,Ser. No. 11/105,757, filed Apr. 14, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,526,103,and/or Ser. No. 11/239,980, filed Sep. 30, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No.7,881,496, a video device for internal cabin surveillance (such as forsleep detection or driver drowsiness detection or the like) and/or videotelephone function, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,760,962 and/or5,877,897, a remote keyless entry receiver, a seat occupancy detector, aremote starter control, a yaw sensor, a clock, a carbon monoxidedetector, status displays, such as displays that display a status of adoor of the vehicle, a transmission selection (4 wd/2 wd or tractioncontrol (TCS) or the like), an antilock braking system, a road condition(that may warn the driver of icy road conditions) and/or the like, atrip computer, a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) receiver (suchas described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,124,647; 6,294,989; 6,445,287;6,472,979; 6,731,205; and/or 7,423,522, and/or an ONSTAR® system, acompass, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,924,212; 4,862,594;4,937,945; 5,131,154; 5,255,442; and/or 5,632,092, and/or any otheraccessory or circuitry or the like (with all of the above-referencedpatents and PCT and U.S. patent applications being commonly assigned,and with the disclosures of the referenced patents and patentapplications being hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties).

Optionally, the mirror assembly (such as at the mounting base, which maybe fixed relative to the vehicle windshield) may include an imagingsensor (such as a forward facing imaging sensor or camera that has aforward field of view through the vehicle windshield) that may be partof or may provide an image output for a vehicle vision system, such as aheadlamp control system or lane departure warning system or objectdetection system or other vehicle vision system or the like, and mayutilize aspects of various imaging sensors or imaging array sensors orcameras or the like, such as a CMOS imaging array sensor, a CCD sensoror other sensors or the like, such as the types described in U.S. Pat.Nos. 5,550,677; 5,670,935; 5,760,962; 5,715,093; 5,877,897; 6,922,292;6,757,109; 6,717,610; 6,590,719; 6,201,642; 6,498,620; 5,796,094;6,097,023; 6,320,176; 6,559,435; 6,831,261; 6,806,452; 6,396,397;6,822,563; 6,946,978; 7,038,577; and 7,004,606; and/or U.S. patentapplications, Ser. No. 11/315,675, filed Dec. 22, 2005, now U.S. Pat.No. 7,720,580; Ser. No. 10/534,632, filed May 11, 2005, now U.S. Pat.No. 7,965,336; Ser. No. 12/091,359, filed Jun. 10, 2008, published Oct.1, 2009 as U.S. Patent Publication No. US 2009/0244361; and/or Ser. No.12/377,054, filed Feb. 10, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,972,045; and/or PCTApplication No. PCT/US2006/041709 filed Oct. 27, 2006, published May 10,2007 as PCT Publication No. WO 07/053404; and/or PCT Application No.PCT/US2007/075702, filed Aug. 10, 2007, published Feb. 28, 2008 as PCTPublication No. WO 08/024639, which are all hereby incorporated hereinby reference in their entireties. The sensor may include a lens elementor optic between the imaging plane of the imaging sensor and the forwardscene to substantially focus the scene at an image plane of the imagingsensor. The imaging sensor may comprise an image sensing module or thelike, and may utilize aspects described in U.S. patent application Ser.No. 10/534,632, filed May 11, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,965,336; and/orPCT Application No. PCT/US2006/041709, filed Oct. 27, 2006 and publishedMay 10, 2007 as International Publication No. WO 07/053404; and/or PCTApplication No. PCT/US2003/036177 filed Nov. 14, 2003 and published Jun.3, 2004 as PCT Publication No. WO 2004/047421, which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Optionally, the accessory or accessories, such as those described aboveand/or below, may be positioned at or within the mirror casing and/ormirror cap portion or the like, and may be included on or integrated ina printed circuit board positioned within the mirror casing and/or capportion, such as along a rear surface of the reflective element orelsewhere within a cavity defined by the casing, without affecting thescope of the present invention. The user actuatable inputs and/or touchsensors and/or proximity sensors and displays described above may beactuatable to control and/or adjust the accessories of the mirrorassembly/system and/or overhead console and/or accessory module and/orvehicle. The connection or link between the controls and the displayscreen device and/or the navigation system and/or other systems andaccessories of the mirror system may be provided via vehicle electronicor communication systems and the like, and may be connected via variousprotocols or nodes, such as BLUETOOTH®, SCP, UBP, J1850, CAN J2284, FireWire 1394, MOST, LIN, FlexRay™, Byte Flight and/or the like, or othervehicle-based or in-vehicle communication links or systems (such as WIFIand/or IRDA) and/or the like, or via VHF or UHF or other wirelesstransmission formats, depending on the particular application of themirror/accessory system and the vehicle. Optionally, the connections orlinks may be provided via various wireless connectivity or links,without affecting the scope of the present invention.

Changes and modifications in the specifically described embodiments maybe carried out without departing from the principles of the presentinvention, which is intended to be limited only by the scope of theappended claims as interpreted according to the principles of patentlaw.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An interior rearview mirror assembly for avehicle, said interior rearview mirror assembly comprising: a mirrorcasing; and a prismatic reflective element; wherein said mirror casingcomprises a unitarily molded mirror casing having at least oneattachment surface; wherein said prismatic reflective element comprisesa glass substrate having a front surface and a rear surface and aperimeter edge about a periphery of said glass substrate of saidprismatic reflective element and extending between said front and rearsurfaces of said glass substrate, wherein a mirror reflector isestablished at said rear surface of said glass substrate, and whereinsaid front surface generally faces a driver of a vehicle when saidinterior rearview mirror assembly is normally mounted in a vehicleequipped with said interior rearview mirror assembly; wherein saidperimeter edge of said glass substrate comprises a generally roundedsurface disposed between said front surface and said mirror casing;wherein said perimeter edge of said glass substrate is edge-ground toprovide said rounded surface; wherein said prismatic reflective elementis attached at said attachment surface of said mirror casing; andwherein said perimeter edge of said glass substrate of said reflectiveelement is exposed to and is viewable by the driver of the equippedvehicle when said interior rearview mirror assembly is normally mountedin the equipped vehicle.
 2. The interior rearview mirror assembly ofclaim 1, wherein said perimeter edge of said glass substrate of saidreflective element is generally co-planar with a side wall of saidmirror casing.
 3. The interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 1,wherein said at least one attachment surface comprises at least onegenerally planar attachment surface.
 4. The interior rearview mirrorassembly of claim 3, wherein said mirror casing comprises a perimeterlip that circumscribes said at least one attachment surface, and whereinsaid at least one attachment surface is generally coplanar with saidperimeter lip.
 5. The interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 4,wherein said rear surface of said glass substrate generally abuts saidperimeter lip of said mirror casing.
 6. The interior rearview mirrorassembly of claim 1, comprising a toggle device for adjusting saidprismatic reflective element.
 7. The interior rearview mirror assemblyof claim 1, wherein said at least one attachment surface comprises apair of spaced apart attachment surfaces.
 8. The interior rearviewmirror assembly of claim 7, wherein said mirror casing comprises aperimeter lip that circumscribes said attachment surfaces, and whereinsaid attachment surfaces are generally coplanar with said perimeter lip.9. The interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 7, comprising a toggledevice for adjusting said prismatic reflective element, wherein saidtoggle device is disposed between said spaced apart attachment surfaces.10. The interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 9, wherein a centralcavity exists between said attachment surfaces, and wherein said toggledevice is at least partially disposed in said central cavity.
 11. Theinterior rearview mirror assembly of claim 9, wherein said mirror casinghas an aperture formed therethrough and wherein a mounting structure ofsaid toggle device protrudes through said aperture for pivotallymounting said interior rearview mirror assembly at an interior portionof a vehicle.
 12. The interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 1,wherein said prismatic reflective element is adhered to said attachmentsurface of said mirror casing.
 13. The interior rearview mirror assemblyof claim 12, wherein said prismatic reflective element is adhered tosaid at least one attachment surface using double sided tape disposedbetween said rear surface of said glass substrate and said at least oneattachment surface.
 14. An interior rearview mirror assembly for avehicle, said interior rearview mirror assembly comprising: a mirrorcasing; a prismatic reflective element; and a toggle device foradjusting said prismatic reflective element; wherein said mirror casingcomprises a unitarily molded mirror casing having a pair of spaced apartattachment surfaces; wherein said prismatic reflective element comprisesa glass substrate having a front surface and a rear surface and aperimeter edge about a periphery of said glass substrate of saidprismatic reflective element and extending between said front and rearsurfaces of said glass substrate, wherein a mirror reflector isestablished at said rear surface of said glass substrate, and whereinsaid front surface generally faces a driver of a vehicle when saidinterior rearview mirror assembly is normally mounted in a vehicleequipped with said interior rearview mirror assembly; wherein saidperimeter edge of said glass substrate comprises a generally roundedsurface disposed between said front surface and said mirror casing;wherein said perimeter edge of said glass substrate is edge-ground toprovide said rounded surface; wherein said prismatic reflective elementis adhered at said attachment surfaces of said mirror casing; andwherein said perimeter edge of said glass substrate of said reflectiveelement is exposed to and is viewable by the driver of the equippedvehicle when said interior rearview mirror assembly is normally mountedin the equipped vehicle.
 15. The interior rearview mirror assembly ofclaim 14, wherein said mirror casing comprises a perimeter lip thatcircumscribes said attachment surfaces, and wherein said attachmentsurfaces are generally coplanar with said perimeter lip, and whereinsaid rear surface of said glass substrate generally abuts said perimeterlip of said mirror casing.
 16. The interior rearview mirror assembly ofclaim 14, wherein said mirror casing has an aperture formed therethroughand wherein a mounting structure of said toggle device protrudes throughsaid aperture for pivotally mounting said interior rearview mirrorassembly at an interior portion of a vehicle.
 17. The interior rearviewmirror assembly of claim 14, wherein said prismatic reflective elementis adhered to said attachment surfaces using double sided tape disposedbetween said rear surface of said glass substrate and said attachmentsurfaces.
 18. An interior rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle, saidinterior rearview mirror assembly comprising: a mirror casing; aprismatic reflective element; and a toggle device for adjusting saidprismatic reflective element; wherein said mirror casing comprises aunitarily molded mirror casing having at least one attachment surface;wherein said mirror casing comprises a perimeter lip that circumscribessaid at least one attachment surface; wherein said prismatic reflectiveelement comprises a glass substrate having a front surface and a rearsurface and a perimeter edge about a periphery of said glass substrateof said prismatic reflective element and extending between said frontand rear surfaces of said glass substrate, wherein a mirror reflector isestablished at said rear surface of said glass substrate, and whereinsaid front surface generally faces a driver of a vehicle when saidinterior rearview mirror assembly is normally mounted in a vehicleequipped with said interior rearview mirror assembly; wherein saidperimeter edge of said glass substrate comprises a generally roundedsurface disposed between said front surface and said mirror casing;wherein said perimeter edge of said glass substrate is edge-ground toprovide said rounded surface; wherein said prismatic reflective elementis attached at said attachment surface of said mirror casing; andwherein said perimeter edge of said glass substrate of said reflectiveelement is exposed to and is viewable by the driver of the equippedvehicle when said interior rearview mirror assembly is normally mountedin the equipped vehicle.
 19. The interior rearview mirror assembly ofclaim 18, wherein said at least one attachment surface is generallycoplanar with said perimeter lip and wherein said rear surface of saidglass substrate generally abuts said perimeter lip of said mirrorcasing.
 20. The interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 18, whereinsaid mirror casing has an aperture formed therethrough and wherein amounting structure of said toggle device protrudes through said aperturefor pivotally mounting said interior rearview mirror assembly at aninterior portion of a vehicle.